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Leone Welcomes State Aid for Springdale Station Improvements

STAMFORD—State Senator Carlo Leone (D-Stamford) today welcomed the release of nearly $2 million in state Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) funding to design and construct various pedestrian and bicycle improvements around the Springdale train station.

The $1,994,188 state grant, announced today by Governor Dannel P. Malloy, will pay for design and engineering drawings and the construction of safer bicycle and pedestrian access to the village center and Springdale rail station, realignment and modification of the station’s main entrance at Clearview Avenue, and other improvements to landscaping, lighting, and general accessibility in and around the station area.

“Transit-oriented development—which is that mix of housing, retail and office space within walking distance of some type of public transportation—it’s just great for cities like Stamford, and it’s good for the region as a whole,” said Sen. Leone, who is Senate Co-Chair of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. “Springdale and all of Stamford are on heavily-travelled rail lines, less than 40 miles from Grand Central Station in New York City. Anything we can do to make it easier for automobiles, pedestrians and bicyclists to get in and around the Springdale station is going to be a benefit for those riders.”

In total, five projects in cities and towns across Connecticut will receive approximately $8.5 million in funding under the second phase of the 2017 Responsible Growth and Transit Oriented Development Grants—a competitive grant program that supports transit-oriented development and responsible growth in the state and is targeted at boosting economic activity and creating jobs.

The grant comes under the second round of state’s Responsible Growth and Transit-Oriented Development Grant Program, which is administered by the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) and relies on a combination of funding from the Responsible Growth Incentive Fund and the Transit-Oriented Development and Pre-development Fund.

In April 2017, OPM released a request for applications for the grant program, and the State Bond Commission approved a total of $15 million to be used—comprised of $5 million from the Responsible Growth Incentive Fund and $10 million from the Transit-Oriented Development and Pre-development Fund. Following that, OPM—with input from other state agencies—reviewed, rated, and ranked each of the proposals. The first round of grants were released in December 2017 and totaled $4.5 million.